Event Management Business Plan – West Event Planners
Brief Description of Business
In the modern world doing business is the most fruitful way to earn a living. I and some of my close friends always wanted to start a business, but the problem was to arrange investment. Well, to be honest, we also were not sure about it because none of us had a practical experience of running a company or an organization. We met many youngsters who wanted to start a business but had almost same concerns as we did and initially we thought if everyone has these concerns they got to be valid.
One of my friends was insisting still insisting on doing this. His argument was we were meeting just the people who didn’t have the courage to face and sort their concerns out. Instead of them, we should discuss with the people who are doing business from their teenage and running it pretty well. That sounded logical, so we decided to meet his uncle, who was running a medium scale construction business. We started with our concerns, and he validated them all, but he added there are always some risks in doing business, but all you need is to be confident and work hard to get you goal. Nothing is impossible.
Well after that motivational speech we all were on the same page. We thought if his uncle can do it on his own we can’t we all do it with combined effort. That was the day “West Event Planners” was born. We all decided to sit down and conduct a first official meeting for our business plan. We had to decide on means through which we would arrange the finance, targeted customers and how to approach them.
We decided to ask a local bank for a loan. As the company was initially very small and we were going to do most of the work by self, we didn’t need a lot of money to start up. We just needed an office and some marketing money. We decided to target the foreigners as our customers. We thought they don’t get to have the events as they would have in their native land. Even if they do, it costs them a lot because only the big and expensive planners can plan that.
We decided to visit the market for the survey to find products we’ll need and the service providers we might need. This was also to spread word of mouth for publicity. Though we narrowed it down to the foreigners, there was still a wide range of events, from the birthday parties of children to marriages and even funeral ceremonies. We had to make our arrangements appealing for every age group. Another thing we had to do was to learn more and more about different culture and traditions.
Mission, Vision, and Objective:
Mission:
When we started our mission was to get a good PR on the market and advertise ourselves as a dependable event planning company. The mission which remained with us even when after successfully managing so many events now, is to settle ourselves as a company on which people have blind trust and gain the level of trust that once we are there at their event they don’t need to worry about the arrangements or keep a check on the pace of work. Our mission becomes a name upon which people can rely upon. It is a bit harder for us because the market we cater is too demanding and sometimes bringing their home towns in America is not that easy.
Vision:
Our vision from the very first day was to achieve the goal of bringing smiles to the faces of the people who miss their hometowns at the important occasions of their life. Our vision is to make everyone in this country feel like being at home.
Objectives:
- Provide best services once committed to the client no matter how much tough the situations are.
- To build a close relation and strong communication channel with the client being dealt with.
- To build a good relationship with all the suppliers.
- To fulfill all the ethical responsibilities when running the business.
- To stay focused on the need and satisfaction level workers as well as clients.
- To expand the business in more cities.
Business Environment Analysis:
Business environment analysis is analyzing all the internal and external factors that can have an impact on the business. Internal factors can be the ones which can be controlled like internal relationships, value system and plans to achieve goals. External factors are mostly the ones who can’t be controlled like competition in the market, economic situations and technological advancements (Prajogo, 2016).
The internal factors for our company have mostly been under control. The value system within the company is well defined, and we hardly made any change in the general framework. We have well-defined limitations of jurisdictions and clear priorities. Initially, it was a bit hard because we were not that well aware of the outcomes and situations. Now that we are more organized such problems are almost under control.
About the issue of the internal relationships, we at our company promote an interactive environment. We don’t focus on the client’s needs and satisfaction only; we always try out best to keep all the stakeholders happy. We are well aware of the fact how much important it is to keep the stakeholders happy and satisfied. To have support from shareholders and stakeholders we obviously need to invest our time and efforts to keep them satisfied. Winning the loyalty of the employees is very important factor in running a successful business, so we always try out best to make sure the workers don’t have any problems which are left un-addressed. We consider loyal employees and satisfied stakeholders and shareholders as a most valuable asset of our company.
Our mission and objective are very clear to all the people linked with our company. No plan, short or long term, is made which conflicts with our mission and objective statements. We believe that if we make such plans which conflict with our mission and objective statements it can confuse our workers. Ignoring some basic objectives while making short term plans can be fruitful sometimes, but we believe in long term impacts. If we compromise on our basic values once it can turn into the pattern without us realizing.
Our business is all about improvising and tailor new plans according to the needs and wants of people and if we start challenging ethical boundaries and the basic mission and objective statement we might end up having no boundaries and just with the urge to earn more. This type of attitude is what makes the companies fail and lose their reputation. So that’s why we take our mission and objectives very seriously. This is probably the reason we still have internal factors pretty much under control.
The list of external factors is really big and ever changing. These factors are very complex and mostly out of hand. All we can do is to perform to our best abilities and hope for the best. Competitors are always a big reason to worry, but we think of it as inspiration to do more and better work. It inspires us to bring a new idea to the table and build up the courage to implement them. We believe as far as you have new and attractive ideas you can attract business no matter how much competition you have.
We arrange mostly theme based events in which we try to bring different cultures to America. Not a lot of event planners are working on this, so our target client doesn’t have much of choice. Unlike many big companies, our sole focus is on the cultural background of our client unless he wants us not to do that.
Economic situations are ever changing no doubt about that, but the thing about our business is no matter how much the situation is good or bad there are always some events happening. We have faced some ups and downs in the business, we need to do more work to get work in some months of the year, but as we are building our good will in the market, I feel like it is becoming less difficult now. We believe in making relations with the client which also brings referrals which help in finding a business in tough economic situations.
In our field of business, technological advancement is becoming a very important factor. I feel there are two parts to it being able to get hands on the technology and being able to afford it. We are still struggling with both at some points.
Position in the Industry:
My position in the company currently is as CEO and Director. I’m looking into all the matters of operations. The rest of my partners attend board of directors meetings regularly. Being at this position always sounded like fun to me until I had to sit on the chair. From buying the right flowers to managing the celebrity appearances at events, everything that my company does is my responsibility. I’m responsible at the end of the day and answerable to the board if anything goes wrong.
Though loyal and hardworking staff helps a lot but still making sure that things go according to the plan is at the end my responsibility, and I need to keep a check on that. Along with that, I have to conduct a meeting to generate new ideas as well and keep an eye on the business graphs. If the targets are not being achieved, I’m the one who needs to look into it and ask for the explanation from the marketing department.
Competitive Analysis:
Competitive analysis is very crucial part of running a business. It helps in deciding what the uniqueness of the company is. It helps the company in competing with the competitors better. It helps to analyze the weakness of other companies and their strengths as well, and by knowing it, a company can make informed decisions for the future of the company (Wright, 2014).
There are too many event planning companies nowadays, and that creates tough competition. The thing about the market of this business is that there many competitors who are there but the company does not need to bother them. There are many competitors who are just doing as a side business and don’t focus on it much and cause many problems in the event for a client. But the problem is they have an impact on the price range being offered by the market. They are normally cheap and make it difficult for the companies which new but they have potential to organize a successful event.
About the product being offered, the competition is tough because it’s all about creative ideas and in creativity sky is the limit. New ideas are being executed every day. Our company has a creative team working every day to keep us stay alive and running in this competitive environment.
We always keep an eye on the successful and disastrous events being organized in our operating areas. It helps in analyzing the standing of our competitors. This part of competitive analysis tells us what we have to learn from our competitors as in what to do and what not to do. Mostly we get to learn what we should not be doing. This helps avoid failures and get better at our job as well.
We also analyze the strategic steps of our competitors to avoid failures. For example, when we started this business, in open area events we used to rely on the weather forecast, but then we learned we should have a sound backup plan. We need to have a sound and well-rehearsed plan to save the food and sensitive and expensive decorations in the case of any unstable weather situation.
Market variations are normally considered random by amateurs, but it isn’t that random. There is a pattern which needs to be cracked and that comes with the experience. Predicting the future becomes easier. There are months when there are least events, and there are months when there is overload by the right prediction company can be ready for what is coming.
Market Analysis:
This analysis helps the company in assessing the market. It helps in finding out the situation of the market in the sense of availability of the business then. Understanding the amount of the clients and their preferences and economic barriers is also a part of this analysis (Getz, 2016).
We are still a medium level company and are not organizing very big events. The competitors at this level are much more than the competitors in the market of big event organizers, but there are much more events being organized at this level as well. So it somehow levels up. Initially, the competition was the biggest deal to handle, but with the passage of time, the competing has become easier comparatively. There is not very impressive amount in the form of profit, but there are enough events for us to survive.
Our sales pitch and rates mostly are impressive for the upper middle-class people. Though we also cover the event below that, up till now we haven’t been able to impress much of the big clients; we believe as the company’s profile is getting stronger our chances are getting better. We mostly target the clients who not the natives and our sale pitch of bringing their culture to their event work great on them.
To meet the market needs the most important factor in my point of view is to make good relations with your suppliers. In event management, especially for medium scale companies, the customers mostly want minimum budget and least advance payments. For this, you need good suppliers who give you good rates, and you can adjust the payment installments with them.
More we know our competitors better it is for our company. We track the progress of the companies who can steal our potential employee. We also analyze their assets and their potential to make progress.
I always try to make sure that we give the best rates with the best work. There are some companies that steal our client just because they gave a low price but compromised on the quality. But in the long term, those companies cannot survive. Our good quality with minimum rates possible is something which I like to believe is makes us unbeatable.
My strategy is to take this company forward but slowly. Right now I’m trying to build a strong profile and make good relations with the venders and the customers to get maximum recommendations.
I was always interested in the management events. Even when I was not in this business, I like planning the get-togethers of family or friends. I liked watching people enjoy without any worry and being a small part of the reason of that.
Balance Sheet
| ($ Thousands) | 31/6/2017 |
| Goodwill | 50,396 |
| Other intangible assets | 25,624 |
| Rental assets | 20,299 |
| Other property and equipment | 22,898 |
| Non- Current Assets | 117,217 |
| ($ Thousands) | 31/6/2017 |
| Receivables | 116,261 |
| Cash in bank and near cash | 30,305 |
| Inventories and work in progress | 7,685 |
| Current Assets | 154,251 |
| ($ Thousands) | 31/6/2017 |
| Capital | 37,259 |
| Reserves and additional paid in capital | 98,256 |
| Net income | 16,295 |
| Shareholders Equity Attributable To The Group | 151,810 |
| Non-controlling interests | 28,894 |
| Total Shareholders’ Equity | 180,704 |
| ($ Thousands) | 31/6/2017 |
| Deferred tax liabilities | 2,589 |
| Long-term debt | 80,259 |
| Non-Current Liabilities | 82,848 |
| ($ Thousands) | 31/6/2017 |
| Current borrowing | 90,287 |
| Trade payables | 99,574 |
| Tax and employee-related liabilities | 52,874 |
| Other liabilities | 102,178 |
| Current Liabilities | 344,913 |
Income Statement
| ($ Thousands) | 31/6/2017 |
| Sales | 402,874 |
| Other revenue from ordinary activities | 4,874 |
| Operating Income | 407,748 |
| ($ Thousands) | 31/6/2017 |
| Raw material and consumables | 25,877 |
| External charges | 205,784 |
| Taxes and similar payments | 8,254 |
| Personal expenses and employee profit sharing | 92,787 |
| Operating Expense | 329,241 |
| ($ Thousands) | 31/6/2017 |
| Net interest expense | 7,784 |
| Other financial income and expense | 200 |
| Net Financial Expense | 7,984 |
| Earning Before Tax | 78,164 |
| Tax expense | 17,784 |
| Net Income | 60,380 |
Cash Flow Statement
| ($ Thousands) | 31/6/2017 |
| Net income | 60,380 |
| Depreciation and provisions | 15,785 |
| Unrealized gains and losses from fair value adjustments | 102 |
| Expense and income in connection with stock options | 569 |
| Operating Cash Flow | 76,826 |
| Net finance cost | 8,547 |
| Tax expenses | 15,875 |
| Cash flow before net finance costs and tax | 101,248 |
| Tax payments | 8,548 |
| Change in inventories | 586 |
| Change in trade receivable | 14,298 |
| Change in trade payables | 2,148 |
| Other charges | 7,458 |
| Changes in working capital requirements | 12,785 |
| Net Cash Provided By Operating Activities | 101,102 |
| Acquisition of intangible fixed assets | 4,781 |
| Disposal of tangible and intangible assets | 250 |
| Acquisition of financial and other non-current assets | 10,784 |
| Net Cash Used In Investing Activities | 85,787 |
